We paid for a guide to take us through the gorges because of the threat of rain (it had been raining the whole past week and was sprinkling throughout the morning). Rain in the gorge often leads to flash floods and guides know all the escape routes are. While we were lucky and it didn’t end up raining while we were down there, he was really helpful in getting us up onto ledges and lowering us further into the pits. The gorges were incredible and every bend was something else to marvel at. This hike was kind of like a nature adventure course, climbing up walls with ropes, jumping into ditches, and hoisting ourselves up over rocks. Overall, it was a fantastic day full of adventures and beauty. Towards the end of the hike we also came across steaming water from the hot springs below saw the largest geothermal plants in Kenya, supplying the country with 70% of its energy, as we exited the park. We said goodbye to our guide and headed off for the two hour drive home.
On Saturday we finally had the opportunity to visit Hell’s Gate National Park near Lake Naivasha. Hell’s gate is supposedly where the Lion King’s setting (especially Pride Rock) is based on. Right away we saw Pride Rock, although it looked very different than it did in the movie. There was an option to rock climb to the top, which of course, I could not pass up! Madison and I put on harnesses, rock climbing shoes, and helmets and started scaling the wall. For most of my climbing experience being in a gym, it was a bit more difficult than I anticipated. It was a great climb and we received encouraging shouts from our friends below. At the top the view was incredible. We could see plains for miles, dotted with the black and white stripes of the zebras, and beautiful plateaus looming in the distance. Two more groups climbed after us as we watched the Rock Hyraxes at the bottom with amusement and jumped away as they would get too close. After everyone who wanted to, climbed, we jumped back in the bus and headed to the gorges. On the way we saw buffalo, zebras, giraffes (including a baby!), impalas, and gazelles. We paid for a guide to take us through the gorges because of the threat of rain (it had been raining the whole past week and was sprinkling throughout the morning). Rain in the gorge often leads to flash floods and guides know all the escape routes are. While we were lucky and it didn’t end up raining while we were down there, he was really helpful in getting us up onto ledges and lowering us further into the pits. The gorges were incredible and every bend was something else to marvel at. This hike was kind of like a nature adventure course, climbing up walls with ropes, jumping into ditches, and hoisting ourselves up over rocks. Overall, it was a fantastic day full of adventures and beauty. Towards the end of the hike we also came across steaming water from the hot springs below saw the largest geothermal plants in Kenya, supplying the country with 70% of its energy, as we exited the park. We said goodbye to our guide and headed off for the two hour drive home.
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I have officially started interning full time now that rural week and classes are over. This past week I have taught the three hour English class to the level three students each day, helped them to memorize and recite poetry for a competition and performance in December, worked with participants more on the newsletter, edited program reports, and worked on organizing files for the case-management team. Being at Heshima everyday has really allowed me to get more fully involved with the organization and get to know the participants, especially my students, better. From practicing conversations with my group and hanging out with several students after class, I have gotten to know more of their stories, their aspirations, and their daily lives. I have also gone from being “Mzungu” to being Bailey or Teacher. As insignificant as this may seem, I truly see it as a transformation. Just them knowing my name or my position in the organization, I am seen as a person to be respected rather than the random white girl that used to be there one day a week. Progress. I still have a long way to go in doing something tangible for this organization, but I definitely feel like I am on the right track.
During this week I have I have also gotten a better glimpse into some of the inefficiencies and frustrations of working for a nonprofit in a developing country. During the past week there were two days that my internship boss just did not show up and did not let any of the other staff members know. Her absence changed the way a lot of the daily programs had to be run and made it really difficult for me to do my work. She is the only one with keys to the resource center, where the computers, books, textbooks are kept. Without access to these I had to come up with a three-hour English lesson on the spot and had to cancel the journalism group since they couldn’t use the computers to type their stories. It also resulted in a lot of time when I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing. But during this time I have gotten to know the Case-Management team and was able to help them out a little. There have definitely been frustrations but overall I am loving my experience and am so excited to have the opportunity to work on the ground with the kind of organization I would love to work for in the future. This experience has definitely shaped the specific direction of my interests and I hope to be able to pursue the gendered nature of refugee issues and the development and rebuilding that comes after displacement more in my studies and in my work experiences. Start reading from the blog post titled "Rural Week!" below Waking up this morning, I couldn’t believe it was already Friday. While the days have been long, the week sped by. After the girls left for school I helped prepare vegetables for lunch and got ready for what I was told would be an adventure later in the day. As we waited to get picked up by piki piki (Motorbikes - called boda bodas in Nairobi) the girls arrived home and we played a while. Somehow Nicole managed to explode the ink of a pen all over Velma and I. I washed off my arm but there was still a bunch on my sleeve. Just then, Megan and her host mom showed up to join us on our adventure. Her host mom and Caroline were very adamant that I had to go change my shirt. I insisted it would be fine and I didn’t have any other clean ones anyway, but they said a dirty one would be better. After some arguing, I finally convinced them it would be fine and we set off walking towards the school. There we met Maddi and my host mom along with three other teachers who drove the piki pikes. We each sat three to a motorbike, with mzungu’s in the middle. Our first stop was Phil’s house where he has started a large organic banana farm. He showed us around and told us about the banana plants and organic farming. We stopped by his house for some bread, tea, and cassava. His father had heard visitors were coming so he had waited all morning to meet us all. After signing the guest book and taking a few pictures we set off for a famous rock called Kit Mikayi. Along the way one of the motorbikes broke down so we took a quick break and stopped for sodas at a restaurant along the road. When the bike was fixed, we set off again. The landscape was indescribably beautiful. Brilliant green fields, banana trees, hills with enormous boulders, and the bright blue sky with Lake Victoria in the background framed my vision. At Kit Mikayi there were some arguments about the entry prices, which were too high because they had come with mzungu (of course), before they finally came to an agreement. A guide explained the history of the rock in Luo as Phil translated. In short, Kit Mikayi means the first wife’s stone. After a man had discovered it long ago, before there were any houses in the area, he built his home nearby and spent all his time at the stone - hence it kind of became his first wife. It was later used for sacrifices especially when the rains were bad. People would go to the rock and slaughter animals, placing their intestines in a crack in the stone, and praying (amongst other rituals). Then, that night, it would always rain. The guide said he had witnessed the last ever sacrifice there in 1967. After hearing about the history we were able to climb up into a cave where people were praying. Though they were Christians they practice a form that has many elements of traditional beliefs and practices. We saw what basically looked like an exorcism – there were people wailing and screaming, trying to rid one of them of bad spirits. On top of the cave, incredible views spread before us. It was completely breathtaking. We took many pictures before climbing back down. At the bottom we were met by a group of women, many in grass skirts and holding tambourine type instruments, ready to do a welcoming dance and song for us in Luo. We quickly joined in and danced in a circle. After the festivities I asked Phil if they just do that for mzungu or if it is for all visitors. He said all visitors, but that they get especially excited when mzungu come. We hopped back on the motorbikes and ventured to the shores of Lake Victoria a few kilometers away. We saw many fishing boats and nets and a swarm of children eager to see us (after already being shouted and pointed at throughout the day by people excited to see a white person). It was starting to get really old to just be recognized by the color of our skin. We met some of the fisherman and took a quick ride in one of their skiffs. We all tried to squeeze into one boat (including my rather large family members) and we all shouted as it rocked and tipped precariously. Back on land our tour guides made us take pictures with the little children (rather uncomfortably). Afterwards, we went in search of fresh fish. We saw a bunch drying out in the sun and others so fresh they were still flapping their gills trying to breathe. Some of our parents bought fish before we headed off again. The sun was beginning to set but they insisted we go to the nearby(ish) town. The women went to the market and left us with the men who took us to a local bar. At this point Maddi wanted to get back to spend time with her family, Megan was just done, and I was getting there. We got more sodas after declining Tuskers and then Maddi and I were wisked off to the dance floor. Quickly though I said I was tired and had to rest. After realizing we were the only women in the place full of men on a Friday night, we pushed to leave. The men were very nice and we left right away, stopping at a stand to get treats for our host siblings. By then it was pitch black and being in the busy market was a little nerve wracking. But soon we met up with the women and were able to head home. Phil and I talked a lot about Colorado, politics, America, music (he has a family band!) etc. on the way. We stopped to drop off Maddi and I got to meet her parents before heading home. At the house we had dinner of vegetables, ugali, and another whole fish… As we ate we talked about the day and how I will miss them so much and how they’ll miss me. I gave my mom my email and promised to keep in touch and send photos. We all hoped that someday we could meet up again. I thanked them for the wonderful time and experiences and for the amazing day. I really will miss them. Overall, this experience was really great and I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to do it in the way we did. I came in with no expectations and will leave with a wealth of new knowledge, new experiences, and friends. Start reading from the blog post titled "Rural Week!" below As I ate a banana and drank more chai for breakfast, my host mom told me about Luo naming traditions. Traditionally, all names are based on your birth – the weather, season, time, position in the family etc. All girls’ names start with A and all boys’ names start with O. She informed me that my name would be Atieno (born in the evening). After she left for work, I got the girls ready for school and then helped Caroline sweep the compound but per usual, I was much less efficient (I finished about a 16th of what she did in the same amount of time). Then, as she drank her morning chai I did the dishes. We went to drop of the girls’ tea at school and picked up Angie. Angie was making chapati with her mom when we arrived so we joined them for a while. I loved watching them being made and afterwards her mom gave me one to eat. I can easily say it was the best chapati I've ever had! Today we only did two surveys and afterwards spent some time relaxing at Angie’s place a while. Back at home we ate cooked bananas for lunch, which (like everything) was surprisingly delicious!! They almost tasted more like potatoes. I played with the girls before we gathered all the clothes and headed to the river to do laundry. I helped wash all the clothes and give Nicole a bath in the river. Several other women were also there washing clothes and bathing. Caroline asked if I would like to bathe (naked) in the river. I respectfully declined. I wasn’t trying to draw any more attention to myself than I was already getting. Back home we hung up the clothes and I played with the girls more. We planned on going to visit Allie and her dad around 3:00 but it kept getting delayed as more people would come over and Caroline would talk for a long time or would get distracted doing other things. More than two hours later (Talk about African time…) we left. This was probably one of the only times I was frustrated this week (other than all the Mzungu calling) since this was so contrary to my usual tendency to be prompt for everything. When we got to her house she wasn’t even there but we spoke to her grandmother who lived nearby. While she didn’t speak any English she managed to teach me a few words in Luo and I was able to respond to a few of her questions in Swahili. It is so cool to find common ways of communicating in situations where neither of us spoke the others’ language. Later Caroline made chapati and I was really excited to learn how it was made. Caroline’s sister in law (the same age as my actual sister) was there and was very excited to talk to me. Her English was very good and it was nice to have someone close to my age to talk to. She played with my hair, showed me some East African music videos, played with my camera, made me watch the video of her aunt’s funeral, and listened to some of my music while asking me questions. She was very nice and was really impressed with my Swahili, although she only asked me my name and where I was from. Dinner was chapati and ndege stew/green grams with watermelon for dessert. By the time dinner was over I was so tired and kept almost dozing off in the living room while the rest of the family talked (thank goodness it was dark and they weren't trying to talk to me). Finally, everyone else started dozing off too and we headed to bed. Start reading from the blog post titled "Rural Week!" below This morning, I talked with my host mom while I drank my morning chai and nibbled on some groundnuts (peanuts). I then helped oil and dress the girls for school before tidying the house until Angie arrived for her community health survey. We dropped of chai for the girls on the way to do the survey and then trekked through some fields to get to the first house. Angie asked the questions as Caroline translated. As a public health student, it was really interesting to get to sit in on this. We learned about their sanitation habits, how they prepare food, looked at their latrines, asked about illnesses and deaths in the family, etc. In each household we visited there were many family members who had been sick in the past two weeks, at least two of which (per house) were with malaria (good thing I already have a ton of mosquito bites…). After the surveys, we headed back home where Caroline showed me how to cook the fish we would have for lunch. When it was ready, I was served a whole fish on a plate. After a brief moment of panic, I called down and decided I would just watch how everyone else went about eating it. That was a nice idea in theory, but it turns out I was the only one served fish… so I dug in! Eventually, and with a hint from Caroline, I figured out how to pick the meat off the bones and it actually ended up being pretty good! (especially coming from someone who is not typically a fan of fish). I ate the whole thing but skipped most of the head. Apparently Velma loves the heads, so I let her finish it. In the afternoon I bathed, played with the girls, watched Caroline do her hair, showed her how to use my camera, and looked at her photo album. Allie and her father came over to visit again and as we were all chatting Maddi and her host sisters walked by on the way to the market and stopped to visit. At the market we ran into more Mzungu and many of Caroline’s friends/acquaintances. By the time we actually got around to shopping it was already dark. We picked up some sukumuwiki and bread. While cooking, we heard loud noises coming from outside. My mom took me out and explained that it was people trying to ward off the devil and other bad spirits. People across the village banged on pots and pans and yelled into the night air. The sound traveled closer and closer to us as it spread from house to house. Mary explained that it was kind of like a certain type of wind that was thought to carry these bad spirits and it would travel until it hit the river, where it would stop. I asked how often this happened and she responded that it was at least once a year. I was excited that we got to be here to witness this practice and learn more about some of the more traditional beliefs of the community. For dinner I was served another entire fish along with ugali and sukumuwiki. Following dinner, Mary called me over to tell me more stories. She talked about how many people in the village don’t believe the cause of illness is germs, bacteria, or viruses, but rather is caused by things such as the evil eye (when a witch looks at you badly), curses, magicians, etc. People would see other magicians or use herbs and roots and such to cure themselves rather than using medicine or visiting a clinic. She noted that this was still a widespread practice, even among Christians and those who were fairly educated. We discussed the topic more before moving on to the lack of jobs in Kenya, women’s work, things in America, etc. Mary also said she liked me better than the last girl they hosted because I would try/eat everything they made for me. That just goes to show how much it pays off to be flexible and completely immerse yourself in the cultures you are learning about and living in. Start reading from the blog post titled "Rural Week!" below Though the previous night was chilly and the children made noises throughout it, I slept well. I woke up at about 6:45 and quickly got ready. I saw my host mom off as she left for school and watched as Caroline cooked tea over the wood fire, get the children ready for school, and do dishes. I offered to help her with chores but she just told me to rest, so I awkwardly sat and watched her work. She gave the girls a quick bath and I rubbed them with oil and got them dressed in their school uniforms. They were so adorable in their little checkered jumpers. After the kids left for school, I drank chai and ate white bread with butter. We walked to the school to drop off bottles of chai for the girls for their snack and within seconds of arriving, I was swarmed by the tiniest, cutest faces all shouting Mzungu! Mzungu! They crowded around me each wanting to shake my hand and greet me. After I shook as many as I could, they sang me several songs they had been practicing, which was probably the cutest thing I have ever witnessed. After waving goodbye we stopped at the market for a few small things and many more greetings. Back at home we got ready to mop the house. This essentially consisted of sweeping wet rags across the floor. I helped with the first room, but I don’t think I was doing a great job because when she moved on to the next room she just told me to watch and rest. After lots of resting she told me I could do the dishes. This was something I was good at so it would become my contribution throughout the week. When I was almost through, the girls got back from school and helped me with the last two things. We then played for a while until some of their neighbors came over to play. Velma was so cute as she washed their toys the way they wash the dishes and cut up leaves the way Caroline cuts sukumuwiki. Eventually I got out my camera to take so pictures and the girls were immediately all over it. I tried to show them how to take pictures on my iPhone, not the easiest of tasks, but they had lots of fun trying. A few times Nicole started crying because the older girls weren’t giving her a chance to try. As soon as I grabbed her hand, though, she would calm down and jumped on my lap to snuggle. Later, I offered to help Caroline with the laundry, but she declined, so I kept playing with the kids. We ate heaping portions of rice and beans for lunch before a teacher stopped by to visit and meet me. We chatted a while before they switched into Luo. Then, we went to meet Angie at her fathers business in the market to tell her the details about the health survey tomorrow (Caroline would be her translator), but she wasn’t there so I just met a bunch more people and then stopped in the extended families houses to greet them. One of the babies we saw had its leg completely burned. Caroline told me its mother had accidently spilled hot porridge called Uji on it. While Caroline called her careless, no one seemed to be extremely worried even though the burn looked very bad. Back at home I bathed for the first time in the space next to the indoor bathroom. The hot water in the bucket was scalding and since there was nothing to pour it with, I kept burning my hands as I tried to scoop it onto myself. Nonetheless, it was refreshing and felt good to wash my hair. Immediately after, Allie and her dad stopped by for a visit, though they didn’t stay long.
I played with the girls for the remainder of the afternoon until my host mom came home from work. We went out to the field to pick vegetables and she showed me how to properly pick kale. She also pointed out all the other crops and explained how each one was planted and harvested, which was incredibly interesting. It was so cool to hear so much about women's farming as I had just finished an extended research essay on women farmers in Kenya. Back inside, I helped her prepare the kale and we talked about life, marriage, bride prices, divorces, land inheritance, her career aspirations, and more. I think talking to her was one of the greatest parts of the experience; she was so eager and willing to talk about elements of her culture and wondered how they differed from those of my culture. Through our talks throughout the week I learned so much about Luo and African cultures. For dinner we ate chicken, ugali, and sukumawiki. When I was serving myself chicken from the pot I accidentally picked up the chicken head (beak and all) and put it on my plate before realizing what it was. I quickly scooped it back in there and picked another piece, trying not to make a scene. My host mom just laughed. Dinner was absolutely delicious and I was actually able to finish this time! Afterwards we enjoyed the customary post-dinner chai before heading off to bed. Start reading from the blog post titled "Rural Week!" below After a large lunch and a relaxing morning we boarded several matatu-like vans with our bags, water supply for the week, and gifts of food for the host families. In a little under an hour we reached the village and began dropping people off. After leaving Lily and Alex with their families we pulled up to my house. Allie and I both got out (her dad would come get her later) and were greeted by my host sister, Caroline. I introduced myself as Bailey but she seemed to here Pareal, which would come to be my name for the rest of the week. I eventually managed to get her to understand the first letter was “b” but Bareal was as good as it was going to get. The house was nice and was surrounded by many trees. There were two buildings, the larger one made of cement with a tin roof and the smaller of mud/clay. In the back they had a chicken coup and rabbit house as well as another clay building, which served as a cooking area. Nearby, they had a field where they grow maize, bananas, sukumawiki (kale), beans, etc. Many people in the village survive by subsistence farming or selling their produce in the local market. Much of the food we would each this week would be from the garden. After arriving we sat in the living room of the main house as a group of children giggled excitedly, but were scared to come too close. Two of those kids I would later find out were my host sister’s daughters, Velma (age five) and Nicole (age three). After greeting them all, I helped do the dishes, although it seemed more like rubbing dirt around with soap and water. As I washed Velma rinsed and set them up to dry. Already, I was so impressed by how much work she does around the house. I definitely was not doing dishes at five years old. I was shown to my bed in the smaller clay house before going on a tour of the entire property. Behind our house there was another piece of land with six or so houses, where my extended family lived. The great grandfather was polygamous and had six wives, each of whom had a house. Three of those wives were still alive and live on the property and their children’s families occupied the other houses. We were warmly greeted as we stopped in each home. We sat for a while in each one, especially in each of the grandmothers’ homes (they were all so happy to have us there with them). The great grandfather (now 87) still heards cattle and some of the grandmothers sell produce at the market. Caroline introduced them all to us emphasizing how old they were, however in this culture (as in many African cultures), being old does not have the negative connotation we associate with it. She also followed by noting that each of them were still very strong. All of the grandmothers told Caroline they wished I would stay with them and asked that I come back tomorrow.
Velma and Nicole finally warmed up to us and began to hold our hands everywhere we went. It started pouring rain so we headed back to our home to stay dry. Once the rain had stopped we gathered up Allie’s things and walked her to her fathers house. He was getting home just as we arrived so we had a chance to greet him and meet her hose sisters before heading to the market where I was introduced to countless more people. It was mostly in Luo so I couldn’t really understand what was happening, but there was lots of hand shaking and "mzungu" thrown around. The market is open every day from around 5:30 to 7:00pm (when it gets dark) and since it's very small, you can always count on meeting people there. We bought some tomatoes and onions from one of the relatives we had met earlier and then picked up some eggs from one of the small shops surrounding the market. By the time we had reached home, it was dark and we had to light a lantern for light, as there is no electricity. I helped Caroline peel the kale off its stalks and then watched her skillfully cut it into tiny shreds. My host mom, Mary, finally returned home from work and was excited to meet me. She is the head teacher at a nearby primary school and was busy administering the Kenyan national exams all day to level 8 students. Her English was very good so we chatted on an off as dinner was prepared while Velma played with my hair. Once dinner was ready we all sat around the table in the dark except for the lantern. We ate sukumuwiki, ugali (a staple component of Kenyan food, essentially a solid cornmeal mush) and scrambled eggs. We ate with our hands, using the ugali as a utensil. While the food was delicious there was so much of it, I physically could not put it all in my body. We had been told it was crucial to finish our plates as not to be rude (but in this case it was not really a possibility. By the time I gave up I felt like I could throw up). Surprisingly it was not awkward when I failed to finish my food. The family spoke almost exclusively in Luo during dinner and since I only know a few Luo words, I missed almost all of it. After dinner we sat around the living room and drank chai while I spoke to my host mom and tickled Velma. Before heading to bed I used the pit latrine in the house since I had learned earlier that the other one was simply a jerry can surrounded by four tin walls outside (never really figured out how that was supposed to work). Start reading from the blog post titled "Rural Week!" below After weeks of anticipation, rural week had finally arrived! In the morning we packed the last of our things and boarded the bus for the 7-hour journey to Kisumu. Along the way we passed the most beautiful tea plantations. There were rolling green hills framed by the brilliant blue sky and white puffy clouds. It was an image straight out of a fairy tale. We stopped for lunch at Javahouse in Nukuru, much to everyone’s delight, before continuing on to Kisumu. We arrived at the Kiboko Bay Resort (Kiboko is the Swahili word for Hippo), where we would stay until we drove out to the village the next day. The place was right on the shore of Lake Victoria, the headwaters of the Nile and the second largest freshwater lake in the world. We split up into groups of two or three to share the rooms in the permanent tents. After dropping our stuff we spent the remainder of the afternoon wandering around, marveling at the lake, and relaxing by the pool. As the sun started to set we stood on the dock and watched the beautiful orange sky above the lapping waves. We met up for dinner outside in the cool evening breeze but soon had to move inside as it started to pour torrentially. After a delicious dinner and good conversation we headed back to our tents to enjoy a last hot shower and comfy bed before the real rural week began.
Rural week is finally over and I can easily say it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. We spent the week living with families in a rural village of Western Kenya near the shores of Lake Victoria engaging with locals and participating in their daily lives. As a development student who is very conscious of how I portray the communities I am interacting with, I have been grappling with how to effectively communicate my experience in a way that captures it in its fullest and does its best to accurately portray how I have come to understand what life is like there, but all in a way that does not seek to reinforce stereotypes. In that vein, I wanted to emphasize that what I write in the next posts, detailing my actions and experiences throughout the week (as this is how I think I can best do justice to my time there) it does not fully encapsulate my experience nor does it the lives of the community's inhabitants. With that cautionary note, I hope you enjoy reading the chronicles of my week and seeing some of the pictures.
Today we finally made it downtown to explore the Maasai market in the city center. It was so much bigger than the others we have visited and had so many more options! I spent four hours chatting with vendors and having some nice Swah-English conversations while also bargaining for goods. I got a Kanga for myself for rural week (essentially a large piece of cloth you tie around your waste to make a skirt) as well as a bunch of gifts for friends and family back home. When I was completely out of money, except for 50 shillings (about 60 cents), I met this man from the small town we would be staying in for rural week. We had a great conversation and joked around a lot. I told him I’d be back later since I didn’t have any money left today, but he enjoyed our conversation so much and was so eager to sell us something he gave me this tiny beautiful bowl for the 50 shillings. One of the best parts of the market is the conversations and interactions, although I also love looking at all the amazing things and buying gifts. Overall, today was the most fun I’ve had at the market and my bargaining skills are definitely improving! (slowly)
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AuthorAmerican University Student studying abroad in Kenya and India and wandering the world Archives
May 2015
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